UK Karting - MSA Super 1 Series Race Report

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MSA Super 1 Series

MSA Super 1 Series
Round 5 - Rowrah - 31st July 2005

Formula A
Christodoulou leads championship while Catt wins double

Riki Christodoulou (Sutton Coldfield) took the lead of the Renault-backed Super One Formula A championship at Rowrah yesterday, despite struggling with a shoulder injury, while Gary Catt (Andover) won both hard-fought finals.

2003 JICA champion Christodoulou arrived at the Cumbria kart circuit tied for points with early season leader Jason Parrott (Crowland, Peterbrorough) and recovering from an injury picked up while racing overseas. Despite showing good pace in practice and leading both finals Christodoulou finished third in each race, finding the full race distance tiring. It was enough to build a 12-point lead in the championship however, with his rival Jason Parrott having a frustrating weekend, finishing fifth in the first final and retiring from the second race.

Starting from pole position in final one, Christodoulou was overhauled by reigning champion Mark Litchfield (Rocester, Staffordshire) in the first hairpin, but dived back into the lead at the Esses five laps later. Gary Catt launched his attack shortly after, passing Litchfield at McRae’s hairpin on lap seven. A lap later, Christodoulou slipped back to third, with Catt heading Litchfield all the way to the flag.

Catt started the second final around the quarry circuit in pole position, but was challenged by Litchfield on lap four and slipped to fourth. Christodoulou briefly grabbed the lead, but Catt managed to regain first place on lap seven and held it to the flag.

Chris Rogers (Waltham Cross) meanwhile climbed from sixth on the grid to second by the end of the 20 lap final, with Christodoulou finishing 2.3 seconds behind him. Mark Litchfield fell behind David Gregory (Sheffield), to finish fourth but gained enough points from the two finals to overtake Parrott and take second in the championship.

Formula A Provisional Driver Standings: 1st Riki Christodoulou, 453pts; 2nd Mark Litchfield 441pts; 3rd Jason Parrott, 430pts; 4th Chris Rogers 427pts; 5th Gary Catt 425pts; 6th Jason Edgar 377pts.

Formula ICA
Bell holds lead after mixed fortunes

Matthew Bell (Morpeth) was optimistic of taking the Formula ICA Championship after winning the first points-scoring final at Rowrah yesterday. But his plans were dashed on the last lap of final two when he was eliminated by Tom Armour (Hornchurch), who was later disqualified from second place.

Despite crashing off into the tyres half a lap from the end of final two, Bell still leads the Renault-backed championship by 19 points, with one more round (two points-scoring finals) to go. He started the first final at the Cumbrian circuit third on the grid, passing Richard Kent (Olney, Milton Keynes) who ran wide at Iredales, then pole-sitter Benjy Russell (Wisbech, Cambs). Danny Cruttenden (Wilmington, Kent) started the race in second place, but dropped back down to fifth on the opening lap. By half-distance he had recovered, passing Russell at the Stewart Esses and closing up on Bell. Despite threatening to take the lead at one point, Cruttenden finished the race second, with Russell completing the podium.

Cruttenden had a better start to the second final, taking an early lead. Matthew Bell briefly went ahead at the Esses half-way through the race, but Cruttenden regained the lead two laps later. Tom Armour climbed from seventh on the grid to second place by the 16th lap, while behind the top three a train of eight karts, led by Benjy Russell, battled for fourth place. Russell reached the flag ahead of the charging midfield pack, and was promoted to second by Bell’s retirement and Armour’s disqualification. Two podium positions in the two finals lifted him from ninth in the championship standings to fifth, while Daniel Rowbottom (Mamble, Worcs), who drove from 14th on the grid to third place in final two is third in the championship.

Formula ICA Provisional Driver Standings: 1st Matthew Bell 457 pts; 2nd Danny Cruttenden 438pts; 3rd Daniel Rowbottom 406pts; 4th Richard Kent 388pts; 5th Benjy Russell 379pts; 6th Jonathan Walker 379pts.

Formula JICA
Stevens defends lead as JICA gets closer than ever

Will Stevens (Hadleigh, Essex) defended his lead in the Renault-backed Formula JICA championship after a victory and third place finish at Rowrah in Cumbria.

Meanwhile a win and a second place for Oliver Rowland (Penistone, S Yorks) means he is now Stevens’ main rival, overtaking Scott Jenkins (Bristol) to take second spot in the championship with two more points-scoring finals remaining. Underlining the close competition in the junior Super One championship, the top three drivers recorded an equal fastest lap time in the second final. Rowland, Jenkins and Stevens each posted a time of 47.89 seconds around the winding Rowrah circuit, averaging 48.11mph.

Rowland’s victory in the first final was only secured on the final lap of the race. Starting from fourth on the grid, he struggled for a couple of laps, before mounting a charge through the field, recovering to second. Craig Breen (Co Kilkerry) briefly led from an excellent second grid position, but was passed on lap three by Ollie Millroy (Claygate, Surrey), who led for 10 laps until Rowland made a slick passing manoeuvre at the Stewart Esses. Millroy regained the lead four laps later and the two battled until the final lap, when Rowland finally stamped his authority on the race with another pass in the Esses. Behind them, Will Stevens moved from eighth on the grid to third after a close battle with Ollie Millroy in the closing laps.

In the close fought second final Stevens continued his charge to the front of the field, passing Rowland for second on lap two, and taking the lead from Scott Jenkins at the Esses on lap five. Jenkins battled with Oliver Rowland in the second half of the race, but ran onto the grass at McRae’s Hairpin on the penultimate lap and dropped from second to fourth, handing Millroy his second podium of the day.

Formula JICA Provisional Driver Standings: 1st Will Stevens 466pts; 2nd Oliver Rowland 440pts; 3rd Scott Jenkins 435pts; 4th Ollie Millroy 424pts; 5th Lee Bell 403pts; 6th Dean Stoneman 360pts.

The final meeting in the Renault backed six-event B4 Group/ MSA Super One championship is at Shenington, near Banbury in Oxfordshire on 10th & 11th September 2005.

Full Race Results from Round 5...

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